Investment in regional development estimated at 1.8 trillion roubles
Yesterday at a special government meeting, ministers and regional leaders as well as the heads of Russia’s largest industrial companies working in the region - Vladimir Potanin, Oleg Deripaska, Alexander Abramov and others - convened to discuss the implementation of priority investment projects in Siberia.
“Three months ago, in July 2010, the government drafted and approved a development strategy for Siberia through 2020. Our goal is to improve living standards in the regions beyond the Urals and to make Siberia attractive to people – all within ten years,” said Vladimir Putin, who acted as chair of the meeting.
According to the plans for investment, the region should not only be developed as a commodity appendix – it should also house technology hubs and tourist destinations.
“A considerable portion of Siberia's priority projects is being implemented within public-private partnerships. We are building infrastructure facilities, but business is responsible for industrial projects. The government is honouring its commitments,” Putin emphasised, looking up at his audience with obvious expectation that the business leaders present be ashamed if they had not yet followed the government’s lead.
The prime minister went on to list the government’s achievements in the region, including the construction of a highway and a railway in Low Angara, a bridge across the Angara River, and the Boguchany hydro power plant.
“However, infrastructure should not be developed merely on its own merit, but as a condition for the establishment of new production facilities. Therefore, we may demand from investors a comparable approach to their pledges to commission new industrial plants (in this case, an aluminum smelter) and new work on mineral deposits,” Putin said.
He said the government has approved a 21 billion rouble loan for the smelter project alone.
The prime minister went on to discuss roads, something Siberia badly needs. The new Chita-Khabarovsk highway is not the only such project – there is still work to be done before it is completed, including road infrastructure, vehicle maintenance centres, and communications.
He also reminded his audience of another major priority: the construction of housing and social infrastructure. As for tourist zones, they will be developed in the Altai Territory and the Republic of Altai, as well as in Buryatia and the Irkutsk Region..
The projects will be closely monitored, Putin stressed, with Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak responsible for their oversight.
The Regional Development Ministry also received additional functions and authority in connection with the project. After the meeting, Minister Viktor Basargin told reporters that investment in Siberia’s development will exceed 1.8 trillion roubles. The federal government and regional authorities will invest over 200 billion roubles each, while 1.5 trilion roubles is expected to come from private investors.
Valery Butayev